Beginnings
by brightredcherries
Summary: Forbidden love slowly rises to the surface between two stubborn individuals as Bulma watches three years of her life unfold into something that not even she thought would happen. B/V
1. Chapter 1

**OMGZ! This the third freaking time I've redone this story! Well this time I actually came up with a decent plot that NO ONE has done before...and it took me to realize that after reading my favorite books for two hours to finally get inspired. Really funny how books and media can inspire some of us...anyway, here it is...for the third time! Enjoy guys!**

Beginnings

Summary: (Pre-Android Saga) Forbidden love slowly rises to the surface between two stubborn individuals as Bulma watches three years of her life unfold into something that not even she thought would happen. B/V

_"Nothing can stop the man with the right mental attitude from achieving his goals; nothing on Earth can help the man with the wrong mental attitude"_

_~Thomas Jefferson_

* * *

><p><em>~Bulma~<em>

_Describing the last three years of my life as insane would be an understatement. I always imagined being married before having my baby. In my mind it consisted of a huge wedding, eventually getting the hell out of my parents house, and more importantly, being with someone who didn't treat my life like a measley crumb on the floor. Too bad that little thing called life had different plans for me, starting that forever fateful day._

_xXx_

_Three years earlier..._

It had been a few months after the mysterious teenage boy warned them of the Androids. Bulma was now at the point where suicide wasn't such a bad idea. Not only did she have to constantly endure the stubborn being that was Vegeta. Within the last five days, his injuries were steady increasing. Between her and her father, Bulma spent the majority of her time fixing the gravity room. As if her life was not already close to non-existent. Life was easy, carefree, and fun before he came into it. She never worried about witnessing someone she cared about dying right before her eyes on TV, someone calling her 'woman' instead of her name, or having to hear constant death threats to herself and anyone else she holds a bond to. Furthermore, his life wasn't any better...or boring. Outside of training, all did was eat endless amounts of food an slept his ass off.

_What's the point of fixing that machine when all he does is break it? _she thought, taking another sip of her Frappuccino. She was fixed the last of his training bots and additional bots that helped her mother with house work. While fixing the bot, she was wondering where her life was going. She was thirty years old, still living in her parents house, no husband, and on and off boyfriend who wouldn't stop bothering her, and a Saiyan prince who wouldn't shut the hell up! It was no wonder she hadn't had a heart attack from all the stress.

"Hello dear. How are the bots coming along?" Dr. Briefs asked, joining his daughter in the lab.

"It's okay, but it's becoming rather redundant. I don't how I'm going to deal with him. I just fixed these for him like less than four days ago, and yet here I am again. It's like a bad case of deja vu." Bulma explained, sighing a bit.

He chuckled at his daughter, while petting Kitty. "You just have to learn to be patient with him, dear. Sure he's a bit abrasive, but I just learn to put up with it."

"A _bit_ abrasive? There are so many more adjectives to describe that ass! Let's see, he's an egotistical, arrogant, annoying, unappreciative, stubborn, pig-headed son of a-," Bulma went on, before being cut off by her father.

"Dear, I think I got your point after annoying." Dr. Briefs smiled, while watching Kitty nudge Bulma's leg.

"I don't think I can take it anymore. You guys may be able to handle that beast, but I can't. If I have to fix one more bot, I think I'm going to throw a wrench at him." She laughed, playfully rolling her eyes at her father.

He sent her a knowing glance, before smiling. "I'll be working on something for headquarters. Let me know if you need help." He told her, picking up Kitty and going on his way.

_A bit abrasive...that's the understatement of the year, _She thought, setting aside the last training bot, _Thank Kami, I'm finally finished! Now I don't have to hear-_

"Woman!" The Saiyan prince bellowed, making her jump out of her chair.

"Looks like I spoke too soon." She mumbled, before Vegeta entered her lab. "What is it now, Vegeta?"

"I demand the new bots I asked for." He growled, impatiently, all while berating her in his thoughts. _Hell, I thought it would have been obvious why I'm here...stupid wench._

Bulma tried not to say something to set him off, so she let out a breath before responding, "They're right over there. I just finished them...and I'm _not_ handing them to you."

"Hn," He sneered, managing to stack the bots together and left the lab.

"Thank you, Bulma..." She offered heself a job well done, rolling her eyes at his lack of courtesy.

"You actually thought I was going to thank you, woman? You're more stupid than I gave you credit for." He smirked, knowing she was bound to blow up.

"Ugghhh, you're so damn infuriating! Why the fuck is it so damn hard for you to just be courteous?" She yelled, suddenly feeling the heat in her face rise.

"Look, woman. You're beneath me, and I'm not giving you a pat on the back for something that is your job." He let out a sneer before leaving, "Like I would ever lower myself your level, idiotic woman."

"Egotistical bastard." She mumbled, crossing her arms.

"Stupid wench." He countered, just before the door to her lab closed.

_Ugghhh, why do I insist on giving him the satisfaction? _Bulma thought, moving onto more important work.

...

Five hours after dinner, Vegeta continued his intense training under 500 times Earth's gravity. He focused on the task at hand, but he still couldn't comprehend why of all people that Kakarot had surpassed him in becoming a Super Saiyan. The damn, low class trash didn't even understand fully what he's capable off. To be a Super Saiyan was to be beyond a great warrior. To be the greatest warrior in the universe. That title, Vegeta believed, was reserved for him. He had the royal blood running in his veins, not that incompetent idiot Kakarot.

_He's trash! So why the hell is he surpassing me? I am Prince Vegeta, the greatest warrior in the damn universe, and here I am being mocked by an oblivious imbecile! _He thought, throwing his fist into another one of the bots.

He made his decision. He couldn't let anything distract him. He was on a set course, and he was going to follow it to perfection. Anything less would be unacceptable. If it meant avoiding that woman and her family as much as possible, then so be it. Nothing would get in his way, or else it would meet it's end.

* * *

><p>"Damnit!" Bulma shouted, burning her pinky finger on her cup of tea. She hated when she did careless things. She already dubbed herself as a klutz, but she accepted it was one of those things that crept their way into her silly life.<p>

"Bulma, stop with all that foul language. It's not lady like." Bunny scolded, fixing herself a glass of tea as well.

Yawning could be heard, as Bulma watched her father walk into the living room. "I knew I smelled something. Too bad I thought it was food. Anyway, I have to go to HQ, darling. I'll be back before dinner."

Bunny smiled at her husband's affection, "Be careful, dear."

"Will do." He replied, heading on his way.

Bulma sipped her tea while looking out the window at the gravity room. She wondered what he was doing in there. It was obvious he was training, but she didn't know why he always trained himself to the point of exhaustion. It couldn't be healthy to not have a break from working hard. Then again, she knew it sounded hypocritical in her mind to scold him, especially when she knew his motives. She understood what it was like to work hard on something and not wanting to stop until it was finished.

She took another thoughtful sip of tea. _Sure he wants to beat Goku, but I can't help but wonder if that's the only reason he's in this fight with us._

"Oh, that young man. Always working so hard. I should probably get started on preparing lunch. He sure has an appetite." Bunny giggled, heading back to the kitchen.

Deciding not to sit on her ass anymore, Bulma put on her fuzzy slippers and went outside; her destination being the gravity room. She took in the breezy air, letting her long blue locks blow in the wind. She truly enjoyed the nice, crisp September weather. Though it was bit chilly, it was decent weather otherwise.

Once she was in front of the gravity room, she realized it was completely empty. The door was wide open and he was nowhere in sight. _I'll be damn. Maybe he's decided to give himself a break._

After turning around to leave, she noticed that he was in the back yard throwing fast punches at the air. The more she stared at him, the more she could see how truly committed and focused he was. As if there were nothing else existing but him and the surrounding area. His olive toned muscles were defined. Her eyes could see every crevice and indentation in his arms and chest. They were chiseled as if he were something created by Michelangelo. He was a living and breathing Adonis. He was beautiful.

_Wait...what am I thinking? I shouldn't be thinking about him like this. He doesn't give me the time of day anyway, so why are all these obscene thoughts in my head? _She shook off the weird thoughts, and continued to curiously watch him train. Ever since she'd known Goku, she always had an interest in martial arts, but she never decided to take it up or anything, like Chi-Chi.

"Can I _help_ you, woman?" She realized the Saiyan had asked her a question. A sarcastic one at that, but she was almost distracted at the sight of him without a shirt.

She snapped herself out of her girly thoughts."Oh...ummm, nothing. I was watching you train. I'm kind of bored."

"You sitting there is distracting. Unless you want to be my punching bag, leave." He grumbled, attempting to not lose his temper.

He grimaced her with pure disgust. This woman brought the most rage out of him. She was annoying, loud, hormonal, and most of all nagging. How anyone dealt with her personality was beyond any reason he could think of. Perhaps she was just watching him train. Nevertheless, her prescence remained a nuisance.

While his staring persisted, Bulma's lips crept into a haughty smirk. "Are you done staring me down...or do you really like what you see?"

"Don't flatter yourself. No man of great caliber would ever stoop so low. Too bad that doesn't explain that sorry excuse of a warrior that you managed to mate with." Vegeta snided. He could help but let out an evil laugh at his own satirical observation.

Bulma huffed indignantly. "At least he knows how to treat a lady. You'd think for a prince you'd know how treat a woman with respect."

"Are you done with this useless babble, woman?" His voice leaked irritation and maximum frustration.

"Maybe. How come you always train so hard?" She asked, noticing herself changing the subject.

He gave an honest effort to not yell at her, while pinching the bridge of his nose. "To beat Kakarot."

"I know that, but you could hurt yourself pushing it to the limit like that." Bulma mentioned, playing with the sleeves on her hoodie.

He huffed at her absurd response. "Pushing myself to such heights will aid me in becoming stronger. Saiyan's become stronger when they're beaten to near death."

"Isn't that an oxymoron? You know, you hurt yourself to get stronger?" She questioned, making him want to continuously bang his head into the ground.

"Are you done asking me stupid questions, woman? I have _training_ to do, so that I can destroy these damn androids that your pathetic race can't seem to do!" Vegeta shouted, losing his temper yet again.

Bulma tried her best to not to get pissed, "And you wonder why I think you're a jerk! Ass hole!"

"I'll take it as a compliment, bitch." He snarled, going back to his training.

"Uggghhh, fuck you, bastard!" She yelled, stomping all the way back into the compound. She didn't know how she was going to put up with that man for another three years.

* * *

><p>"Come on, B, just tell me why?" Yamcha complained, as he and Bulma continued to walk. Bulma had just finished her dinner date with Yamcha, and was now walking home with a Godiva hot chocolate in her hands.<p>

"Yamcha, he has nowhere else to go. I can't just throw him out the front door. I just have a heart, and I don't like seeing people suffer." Bulma explained, taking another sip of hot coco, "Kami, this stuff is better than sex."

"And now I'm offended," Yamcha muttered, receiving a playful smack from his girlfriend, "But seriously, B. I don't think it's safe for you to harbor a mass murderer capable of causing genocide into your home. I just want you and your family to be safe."

"I know you don't like him after what happened before, Yamcha, but he really needs a second chance. Goku explained to me what Vegeta told him on Namek before he died. He's so bitter and cold hearted because he never had a chance to be anything else. He was taken from his family and then Frieza killed his father, even after he did everything the monster asked him to." Bulma told him, as another breeze brushed past them. She felt thankful that she owned such a warm, yet cute pea coat on over her warm thermal jacket.

_Always trying to make excuse for the son of a bitch, _He thought, trying not to roll his eyes. "I don't know, Bulma, death isn't something you can really forget about."

"Look, just try not to do anything stupid when you're here. Vegeta isn't really the type to put up with bullshit." Bulma warned, as they approached her house.

"You act like you know the guy." Yamcha said, trying to play it off as a joke. In reality, his level of irritation was growing by the second. It really pissed him off that Bulma cared so much about Vegeta after all the pain and suffering he's put everyone on Earth through. Whenever he was crossed, Yamcha made sure that those people were dead to him. Period. He just couldn't comprehend how Bulma could stomach the sight of Vegeta every day of her life.

He noticed Bulma glaring at him, after noticing the sarcastic tone of his voice. "I'm not saying that I know everything about him, but that I know for sure."

"I gotta get going, B. Talk to you soon. You know, gotta do some more training." Yamcha replied, giving her a quick peck and left. He figured if he just kept his mouth shut and left, there would be less yelling and less energy wasted. Once Bulma made up her mind about something, he knew she wasn't likely to discuss the topic any further, to his displeasure.

_I just hope you know what you're getting yourself into, Bulma. _He let out a long sigh, as he continued his flight home.

As she watched Yamcha disappear more into the distance, she took a seat on the porch. She knew deep down, Yamcha was being protective because he cared deeply about her, but she also knew he was becoming a little jealous. Regardless of the situation, Bulma didn't like it when people thought she was incapable of taking care of herself. She had been told many times how stubborn she could be, but that wasn't going to change anytime soon.

_I don't know what I'm going to do about that guy, _Bulma thought, letting herself in. She noticed that in the living room, her parents were watching old movies and cuddling on the couch. It was cute how somethings could bring people closer together. _Well, this is perfect weather for cuddling._

After ascending the stairs, Bulma took her coat and scarf off, carrying them both in her arm. Tonight was such a good night, despite Yamcha's abrupt departure and bitter attitude on the topic of Vegeta. Her dinner and movie with him was amazing, and their stop for Godiva hot chocolate made it even better. Bulma tossed her purse on her bed and put her coat in her endless walk in closet, shutting the door behind her.

It made her wonder what exactly Vegeta was doing with his evening. Did he ever do anything for himself besides train? It didn't seem like he did anything enjoyable or fun. Sure, it's great that he works hard and trains, but shouldn't he be able to enjoy what's left of his life? In his defense, it could be another possible experience that he was robbed of by Frieza. Who knew what the hell that monster did to such a poor, innocent soul.

_Well, at least he was an innocent soul before I met him._ Her mind imagined a little Vegeta. She could see him playing tag with any other Saiyan children. _Then again, he'd probably complain about how foolish it is to indulge in useless activities._

Her playful, yet awkward imagination kept her from hearing the prince walk into her room. "Where the hell have you been, woman?"

Bulma let out a loud squeak, before accidently tossing the remains of her hot chocolate on the prince's face. Her mouth almost touched the floor in shock. "Oh Kami, Vegeta I'm so sorry. Yo-you just came out of nowhere and scared me and-"

"Hn, like something like this would hurt me. It didn't even bother me." He responded, using his towel to wipe the warm liquid off his face, "Don't think that this distracts me from getting an answer out of you."

"Wait...what are you talking about?" Bulma asked, crossing her arms.

"Where have you been? You wreak of that weakling's scent." Vegeta responded, feeling his nose turn up at the awful smell.

"What did you expect? He's my boyfriend, Vegeta. This is what couples do, they hang out and enjoy each others company." Bulma told him, slipping out of her black booties.

"Hn, just keep your sentimental bull shit away from me." He warned her, continuing his walk down the hallway.

"Well, is there anything else I can help you with while you're bothering me?" She asked, shutting the door to her closet.

"The training bots need to be fixed immediately. I cannot put off my training because of your incompetent pieces of machinery." He explained.

"I'm sure waiting until morning isn't going to kill you. I'm not nocturnal, so I'm going to bed." Bulma said, taking out her earrings.

He scoffed instead of rolling his eyes, "Just have them done, woman, or I'll use your head as a substitute."

"Sure. Whatever helps you sleep at night." She said, letting the sarcasm drip a little.

He grumbled something about hating Earth as he left her room. Bulma let out a small growl. It still amazed her how incredibly large his ego was. Not even her ego was that big, and that was saying something.

_He's so arrogant. Might as well get used to it for the next three years of my life. _After throwing on a tank top she hopped into bed. While she laid her head down on her pillow, she realized just how long these three years were going to seem. _Welcome to hell. Population...me._

* * *

><p>Mornings she didn't have to work brought a five a.m. run for Bulma. Running was great therapy for her mind. It gave her a chance to think without all the interruptions. Just peace and quiet. Sometimes she thought about what she was going to do with her day, while at other times she thought about Yamcha and her friends. On her walk back home, however, she thought more about Vegeta. He was one confusing puzzle that she couldn't manage to solve. His haughtiness was obvious, and she understood why he was the way he was. What she wondered was why hadn't he ever considered changing? He didn't have to serve Frieza anymore, so she thought he may consider relaxing his attitude just a little bit.<p>

_Maybe I'm expecting too much. Old habits do die hard, _She thought, letting herself in. She grabbed a bottle of water out of the refrigerator once she got in the kitchen.

"Good morning, honey. How was your run?" Bunny asked, sweetly.

"Great. I ran just about three and a half miles." Bulma told her, taking another swig of water. She could hear Vegeta padding his way into the kitchen. _And the battle of wits begins..._

"Oh, Vegeta, your breakfast is on the table." Bunny told him, before leaving him and her daughter in the kitchen.

There was an incredible amount of awkward tension in the room. Bulma wasn't sure what she should do. Make nice conversation and get ridiculed or keep her mouth shut and go about her day.

_I could use a day where I don't have to hear him complain or repeat how he's royalty. _She took yet another casual swig, while leaning against the counter.

Not that the Saiyan prince wasn't in the same boat. He never was the type to engage in small talk, and he wasn't going to start now. In an odd way, he felt obligated to do so with her standing there staring at him no doubt.

_Insulting her is just too easy, and I don't want to hear her squacking, bird like voice to penetrate my hearing. Either I insult her...or say nothing at all? The second option sounds better. _He chomped away at his breakfast, while she managed to pick up a banana.

"So...those bots are fixed." Bulma told him, while peeling her banana. Though she didn't want to say anything, she couldn't handle the silence anymore. Too bad she just dug her own grave, again.

"Good. The old man finally managed to do his job." Vegeta responded, shrugging.

Bulma nearly rolled her eyes, "Funny how you say that, considering _I_ fixed them for you."

He merely looked at her for moment, "Hn. It's about time you showed me the respect I rightfully deserve, woman."

"It was only so that I didn't have to hear you bitch anymore, you jerk." She growled, clenching her fist tighter around her banana.

"Hn, I don't have time to bicker with you. I have training to do." He said, ending the conversation once the door shut behind him.

For the umpteenth time in the last few days, she let out yet another irritated sigh. _If I didn't know any better, sooner or later I'm going to go crazy dealing with that guy._

* * *

><p><strong>Oh, the witty comebacks between Bulma and Vegeta. Anyway, I had fun writing this chapter...you know since this is the third time I've re-written this chapter. Third times a charm right? Yeah...so, I hope you guys enjoy! Don't forget to leave reviews!<strong>

**Cherriez**


	2. Chapter 2

**Six reviews, yowza! I'm so happy :D Anyway, I'm really excited to do this story! Oh, and if I didn't mention this before, the story isn't really an AU. I mean, in a way it is, but then it also does somewhat follow the anime. It's just my interpretation of the three years before the Androids come. Again, thanks to all of you who reviewed, it means sooo much!**

**Oh, and a special thank you to lilpumpkingirl for being the greatest beta! This story wouldn't have its success without your help!**

_"Anybody's who ever gone through a hard time - any outsider's perception, no matter how much information they're given, they have no idea what a person's life is like."_

_~Amy Grant_

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><p>"Bulma, for the love of Kami, why don't you just get rid of him? He's a murderer!" Yamcha said for what felt like the umpteenth time having just spent an hour and a half insisting that his girlfriend get rid of the thorn in his side.<p>

Bulma sighed, balling her fist. It was little wonder that she didn't just right hook him. "Yamcha, for the _last_ time, I'm not kicking him out. My mom would kill me if I did, and plus I'm not going to let him be alone, at least not anymore."

"He's used to it. It wouldn't make much of a difference if he was here or not. He constantly secludes himself from everything and everyone." Yamcha argued, taking a seat on the couch.

"Well, if we don't show him that we gladly want him to be around, then he's going to keep secluding himself," Bulma explained, setting two glasses of lemonade on the coffee table.

Yamcha huffed, turning his nose up at what nonsense his girlfriend was speaking. "I still say you get rid of him. He's not the type of person you all should be around."

"I'm not kicking Vegeta out, and that's final!" Bulma snapped, making Yamcha's eye widen. Rubbing her forehead, she sighed before apologizing, "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have yelled like that, but I meant what I said. Just give him another chance."

"It's okay. I mean, I'm not going to change your mind any time soon, so let's try to enjoy each other's company." He suggested, making Bulma smile.

Her smiled turned into more of a cute, yet sexy smirk, "I know _exactly_ how you can keep me company."

"Hmmm, I think I can happily oblige to that." He smirked, leaning into meet her lips with his own. For a few seconds, their lips were complete synchronized with each other's while Bulma's hands gentle caressed his arms.

"Bulma! Bulma, sweetheart...oh my." Bunny said, making Bulma and Yamcha jump apart.

_I've been dating Yamcha for ten years, and yet Mom still knows how to kill the mood. Then again, I should have seen this coming, _Bulma thought, wiping her drool off her bottom lip. "Yes, Mom?"

"I'm just delivering a message. Your father would like you to meet him this afternoon at the main building." Bunny told her.

"Oh yeah, I have that meeting at two," She muttered, turning her gaze to Yamcha, "Think you can occupy yourself until I get back?"

"Yeah. I'm sure I can get some training in." Yamcha replied, shrugging.

"Okay, well I'll be watering the plants if you need me." Bunny chirped, leaving the room.

Bulma let out a small sigh. "Now that my mom delivered her message, why don't we get back to where we left off?"

"You don't even have to ask." Yamcha smirked, before devouring her lips again. Though there were plenty of times that they made out, Bulma had to admit that making out with Yamcha never lost its edge. It always made her feel excited and aroused. It was no wonder that they hadn't begun having sex on the couch. With his tongue entering her mouth, it made her go into a small hypnotic daze. Bulma hadn't been paying much attention to anything until she heard someone begin to shout.

"Woman! Woman! WOMAN, WHERE THE HELL ARE YOU?" Vegeta's voice bellowed through the house, until he was close to approaching the living room.

Bulma jumped at least ten feet out of Yamcha's arms, until she was standing up straight enough that her back could start cramping, "I'm right here. Do you need help with something, Vegeta?"

"Why else would be seeking you out, woman? Certainly not for some mindless chat you humans often waste your time with." He sneered at the absolute idiocy of it. Snorting as he cracked his neck, he stood there with his arms crossed and scowled at her from the doorway at her, completely ignoring the other man in the room. "As it would turn out, woman, your feeble bots were disintegrated because they lacked even a third of the speed to keep up with my own."

Bulma fought the urge to roll her eyes as she let her tense muscles relax and retorted, "Whatever, Vegeta. I'll build you some new bots that will be significantly faster, but you're going to have to wait three hours and then some before I can start building them."

"That's preposterous! I need them _now_, woman!" He shouted, gritting his teeth.

Oh how this man was infuriating and couldn't help but think, _Kami, if he weren't a Saiyan I'd highly consider torturing or killing him. _"Look, Vegeta, I have to leave soon and help my dad. I can build your bots as soon as I get back. Until then, entertain yourself with some sit ups or something."

"Don't mock me, you miserable wench! Build me new bots or I'll gladly put you in a coffin." His voice rumbled furiously as he uncrossed his arms and clenched his fist.

"Hey, watch who you're talking to, you fucking bastard!" Yamcha shouted, quickly rising from the couch to defend his girlfriend.

"I suggest you stay in your place, Scarface, or I'll gladly kill you as well." Vegeta spat, venomously.

_Oh Kami, help us all! _Bulma slightly massaged her temples, "Stop arguing! Both of you! Now, Vegeta, I do have a life and it doesn't consist of tending to your needs twenty-four seven. Now, if you can't wait a couple of hours, then you're just shit-out-of-luck."

Vegeta nearly blasted a hole in the nearby wall when the rage hit him. How dare she talk to him like he was a piece of trash? He was the Prince of all Saiyans and _no one_ would dare talk to him that way and live to tell the tale. No matter how much she pissed him off constantly, he couldn't bring himself to kill her. What was that all about?

"Like I said before, create new bots or die." He grumbled, abruptly calming leaving the room.

_Strange. Normally he'd break something or get exceedingly livid. Why the hell would he go easy on me? _Bulma wondered, turning to face her boyfriend. "I'm sorry about that."

"No, it's okay. I'm just glad he didn't hurt you. I still don't get how you can live with that guy." Yamcha commented knowing it was pointless to push the subject again, embracing her.

She looked out the window at Vegeta who was throwing himself into a series of punches and kicks, taking out his recent frustrations. "I don't know either, but in a way I feel that if we turn him away, we're no different than anyone else who's casted him aside. He's been alone his entire life, and he needs someone to show they care."

Yamcha smiled, while stroking her arms. "You've always been that way, B. You can always see the good in everyone, even if they're people like Vegeta. That's why I love you so much."

"Thanks. It feels nice when people recognize my good deeds." She replied as she shifted, cuddling more into his chest.

"Well, I better go babe. You have to get going and meet your dad, so I'll be back later." Before bidding her good bye, he kissed her cheek and walked out the room.

_Really, thank you, Yamcha. _She smiled to herself as she ascending the stairs to her room.

* * *

><p>While Bulma had yet to return to Capsule Corp, Vegeta decided to take a break from training and meditate on the top of the compound. His previous confrontation with the woman remained bothersome to him. It wasn't like they hadn't argued before, so what was it about before that made him so livid? The prince took a couple minutes to reflect on his past arguments with the woman. What was different about today that wasn't like any other day?<p>

Then it dawned on him. Clearly, the new variable in the equation was Scarface. Any other time he bickered with her, the weakling wasn't around to cosign for her. What made him even madder is that he always tried to assert some sort of dominance over the woman, but it wasn't like it was working.

_I despise that pitiful weakling. Always getting in my way and can't seem to keep his damn mouth shut. If I wouldn't have to hear that woman complain about it, I'd be torturing him by now._ He needed to find a way to get rid of the weakling, but without killing him. What were his weaknesses? There was the woman, but he couldn't consider her a liability since she was the sole factor in his training. The idiot also showed off his egotistical attitude, but had nothing to show for.

About five minutes later, he felt the woman and the old man's ki's approaching. He looked over to his right and saw her looking around, as if she were lost.

"Vegeta...Vegeta, where are you? I have the bots!" Bulma shouted, letting her sore feet relax in the cool grass. She cursed herself for wearing four inch heels.

"It's about damn time." He told her, landing behind her.

She let out an awful screech that made his ears starting ringing, "Damnit! Vegeta, don't sneak up on me like that! I could have had a heart attack or a stroke!"

"Don't blame me for your lack of awareness. Now where are my bots?" He demanded, wanting nothing more than to get out of her presence.

"They're out by the gravity room. You're welcome." Bulma barely brushed past his shoulder as she walked into the compound.

"Stupid, wench," He muttered to himself as he walked towards the gravity machine to begin his training regiment again. The world will never know why the Saiyan prince managed to tolerate humans.

...

Later that night, things with the Briefs and Vegeta finally settled down for the evening. However, Yamcha was still lurking around the compound. He noticed that the gravity room was completely vacant, giving him the perfect opportunity to check it out. No longer would Yamcha feel like a string bean in comparison to the Saiyan that he hated.

"Yamcha, I really don't think this is a good idea. I don't want you to get hurt." Puar suggested, feeling highly skeptical about the situation.

Yamcha chose to ignore his friend's doubt. "No, Puar. If Vegeta can train at three hundred G's, then so can I."

"I just hope you know what you're doing." Puar mumbled, watching him walk into the capsule.

After looking around the huge dome, Yamcha was surprised at how plain it was. It didn't seem very special, so it confused him how Vegeta managed to get any training done in this thing.

_Then again, I don't think he's mentally stable to begin with. _He found the control panel and gave it a long hard stare before he set it to three hundred times Earth's gravity. He could hear the robot voice explaining the details of the simulation. Once everything began, Yamcha immediately fell to the ground.

_Wha..wha..What the hell? Kami...I...I..can't breathe...and I feel like I weigh about ten tons. _Yamcha could tell if he didn't shut the simulation off soon, death would be inevitable. It took everything in his power to drag himself back towards the control panel to shut it off. He could barely reach it and was already too tired to stretch further.

_I have to get to...this panel...before I die. _With one last push, Yamcha slammed his hand down on the emergency shutdown button. After pulling himself together, Yamcha quickly left the gravity room. He had no idea how Vegeta could handle such brutal training.

"Yamcha...Yamcha? Are you okay? You look terrible." Puar said, noticing Yamcha's look of relief.

"Yeah, I'm fine." He replied, blowing out a long breath. _Well, those Saiyans are really hardcore when it comes to training and fighting._

With that thought in his head, Yamcha took off back home. Hopefully, he'd never have to go through the same experience ever again.

* * *

><p>While soaking in a warm bath, Bulma was thankful that she had Friday's off. Not having to fix the gravity room for the last three days felt really awesome because it meant she didn't have to listen to her Saiyan house guest complain or threaten her life, for the time being. The only thing that was left for her to do was decide what she was going to do with her day. She thought of going shopping since she needed to restock her inventory of clothes, but she also wanted to catch up on some reading since there were novels she hadn't finished.<p>

_Ugghhhh, what is a girl to do with her day off? _Bulma huffed, while drying herself off in her huge, purple body towel. _Ehhh, if I went shopping I could get my nails done. They are in need of a new coat...except I don't know if I should go with black or navy blue._

Once she was out of her bathroom, Bulma shook out her long, straightened blue locks. She could hear the gravity room running with the balcony door cracked open. She always wondered how he held up in such high levels of gravity. He always talked about how Saiyans thirsted for battle and how he and Goku were similar in that respect. It didn't make much sense to her, but then again there were many things about Vegeta that she didn't understand.

She opened her door a little more so that she could get a better look at the gravity room. He just so happened to be walking out of the sphere shaped simulator. While the wind drifted through her hair, her bright blue eyes began to linger on his muscular physique. His shoulders were endless and everything that was toned was in all the right places.

_He's fucking gorgeous beyond belief! Wait...what? Since when did I think that ass hole was gorgeous? Euhhhh, I'm probably flustered from my bath_. She quickly shut the door to her balcony. Yeah, like she'd give him the chance. They had absolutely nothing in common anyway, except the fact that they were both intelligent. Other than that, he hated her and she couldn't stand him.

_Well, I guess it doesn't have to be that way. It's just so damn difficult to deal with such an arrogant personality, especially one that clash with my own. _She carefully put her bright coral tank top and oversized olive colored cardigan on with her light skinny jeans and moccasins. After shutting her door, she met her mother in the kitchen, noticing the piles of food sitting on the table.

"Oh! Good morning, sweetie! How are you?" Bunny asked, washing her hands.

"Great! Not having to fix that gravity room has been such a relief. If I can make it until tomorrow, it will be officially a week since I've last fixed it." Bulma explained, reveling in her happiness.

"Good for you! Oh, I should probably finish cooking. That young man needs his energy." Bunny soon left her daughter at the table and continued to her cooking.

_I swear if she wasn't married to dad, she'd be all over Vegeta. _Bulma shuddered at the image of her mother being a cougar. She went to chill in the living room with her copy of Bram Stoker's _Dracula_ until breakfast was ready. She was at, what she thought to be, the best part of the story, where Dracula and Mina make passionate love after she finds out that her friend was killed by him. Just as she was about to turn the page, she heard a door slam open. She didn't even have to look up from her book to know who exactly it was.

"Woman!" An enraged Vegeta was standing a few feet away from where she was seated on the couch. His face was at least four different shades of red and he was growling like a caged animal.

_Awww, man. I was just getting used to this whole thing about NOT having to fix the gravity room. Damn him! _She dog-eared the page that she left off on and set it down gently. "Is there something wrong with the GR?"

He noticed the slight displeasure in her voice, but brushed it aside. "Fortunately, no there isn't. That incredibly bothersome mate of yours was in _my_ gravity room. His disgusting smell is everywhere and I can't focus!"

"Wait...Yamcha? In the gravity room? I never told him that he could go in there. He'd get squashed like a fly in there." Bulma remained slightly confused. Why would Yamcha go in the gravity room? She told him that it wasn't safe for him, since he'd only trained at ten times Earth's gravity with King Kai. "Oh, and the smell shouldn't be too much of a problem. There's a button in there to fumigate the gravity room, so that should take care of it, even for your heightened sense of smell."

"Hn. Just make sure you keep that imbecile out of my gravity room, or I just may be in the mood to lock him in there until his lungs collapse." He sneered, before being smacked in the face with the swinging kitchen door.

Bunny appeared in the living room as happy as can be. "Bulma, breakfast is done. Where's Vegeta? I could have sworn I heard him a minute ago."

Bulma busted into fits of laughter. It took her a moment to sink in the fact that someone as strong as Vegeta got wacked in the face with a swinging door. "Mom, you just smacked him in the face with the door."

After the door finally stopped swinging, both women noticed Vegeta holding his nose. He snapped his nose back in place, while noticing there was no blood on his hand. Only Bulma seemed to have notice his eye continuously twitching; meaning he was at a new level of mad.

"Oh, hi, Vegeta...," Bunny smiled, still oblivious to the prince's pissed off demeanor.

"Just move out my way!" He snapped, walking through the door.

"Oh, Kami, that was great! This is the best day off I've had in weeks." Bulma sighed, ceasing her laughter.

"Bulma, honey, I don't think it's very nice of you to laugh at him. The poor thing is injured." Bunny responded, scolding her daughter.

_Vegeta? A poor thing? Not likely. I think its karma biting him in the ass. _Bulma shrugged slightly before joining Vegeta at the table, with him already stuffing food down his throat. How things never ceased to amaze her.

* * *

><p>After learning from Bunny that Bulma went out to run errands, Yamcha went out to the gravity room. He needed to set the record straight with the Saiyan prince. Ever since a few days ago, he was angered by the fact that Vegeta was so disrespectful to Bulma and just let out death threats so casually. She bent over backwards for that piece of shit, and has even defended him against Yamcha himself. Oh how badly he wanted to tell Vegeta that no one gave a fuck that he's a prince of a now non-existent planet.<p>

_Someone's got to tell that ass hole where his place is, and it's NOT on a high pedestal. _Yamcha began kicking the gravity room really hard, until Vegeta approached him from behind.

"Can I help you, pest?" The prince asked, making Yamcha jump.

"As a matter of fact, there is something you can help me with. Stop threatening Bulma or you'll be sorry." Yamcha threatened, sizing up the shorter man.

_He can't remotely be serious, can he? _It took every ounce of self control Vegeta had to not laugh at him. This weakling threatening him? _Either he suffers from legitimate brain damage or he's just incredibly senseless. _

"I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but the day that you _ever _cause damage to a warrior my caliber is the day that hell freezes over three times. Leave, weakling, before I change my mind and kill you where you stand." Vegeta sneered, walking back into the gravity room.

"Yeah, a warrior that has nothing to show for." Yamcha mumbled, walking away. Little did he know that his slip of the tongue would scare him shitless.

...

After returning from a great shopping trip, Bulma grinned from ear to ear as she dropped all her shopping bags in her room. She was even more satisfied with her fresh manicure; black and zebra print. Before she could even plop herself down on her comfy queen sized bed, she heard a loud crash coming from the backyard. She knew it wasn't the gravity room, because the ground hadn't been vibrating like an earthquake, but it sure was loud. She quickly ran downstairs and out the back door to the backyard. What she saw almost horrified her. The tree in their back yard was now reduced to a stub, with the other part of the tree a few feet away from her mother's garden. Vegeta and Yamcha were in an intense fight, one which Vegeta was winning. Ki blasts were flying every direction imaginable. Bulma found herself ducking from one of Vegeta's.

"What the hell?" Bulma shouted, ducking from another blast.

"What's the matter, weakling? Can't keep up?" The prince mocked, after sending Yamcha flying just a few inches before Bulma's feet.

"STOP!" Bulma shouted, coming between the two men, "Why the _hell_ are you two acting like caged animals again?"

"It's simple. Your sorry excuse for a mate asked for a fight, so I gave him just that." Vegeta explained, spitting some blood out. He wasn't going lie to himself; the weakling had pockets of strength, which was enough to make him bleed a little, but the prince only gave credit where credit was due.

"This ass needed to be set straight, so that's what I was doing." Yamcha added his two cents, snapping his shoulder back into the socket.

Bulma shuddered at the popping sound. _I swear I need to stop hanging around so much testosterone. _

"It's not like you changed anything." Vegeta murmured, rolling his eyes.

Yamcha nearly hissed at him. "You want some more?"

"With pleasure." Vegeta smirked, charging up his energy.

"No! Yamcha, I can defend my own pride and honor _without_ your help, you idiot. I think its best that you leave." Bulma told him, as she took her anger out on her sweater as she straightened it.

_And again, she defends him, even when I'm trying to help her. _Yamcha huffed arrogantly. "Whatever. See you...whenever."

Bulma was slightly shocked at his tone of voice. His good-bye sounded really sour and hateful. Sure, they pissed each other off, but this particular time he sounded more than just pissed off. She walked back inside the house pondering if she should let the thought stay dormant in her mind.

* * *

><p>"<em>After all I have done for you, monkey, you still have the audacity to betray me...,"<em>

_The same voice continued to echo through the prince's head. He lay in nothing but darkness and cold air. He could feel his own sweat freezing into the atmosphere. He could see nothing; feeling and hearing were the last senses he owned. _

"_I'll show you what happens when you __**dare**__ turn your back on me, you piece of trash!" Before he knew it, a familiar laser pierced a hole right threw his heart. Rather than him dying on the spot, Vegeta could only feel himself losing blood._

_Suddenly, a bright light could be seen. Was it the sun? Whatever it was, it caused Vegeta to squint. After being pulled closer to the light, he could see two figures standing before him._

"_Ka..ka..Kakarot?" He gasped, noticing that same boy right beside him. _

"_Hmm, poor Prince Vegeta. Hasn't even ascended to what he desires most. Too bad I got there first." Goku said, smirking, as his eyes narrowed into turquoise slits._

"_Just think. What if it slipped that the last royal Saiyan hadn't ascended to legendary power, but instead someone of lower blood had instead? What would that look like to the people that you could have possibly ruled over?" The boy questioned, while the shining yellow light surrounding him increased its intensity._

"_No...no...No..NO! I WILL...I WILL DEFEAT YOU, KAKAROT!" Vegeta shouted, before he felt his eyes collapsing, signaling his final words._

He quickly sat up from his bed, gripping the soft sheets in his right hand. Another dream about his failure to ascend to a Super Saiyan. Vegeta's eyes glanced at the clock on the wall. Six o' clock. Since when did he go to bed that early? He then remembered he hadn't been to sleep the night before, so it must have happened out of being tired. He threw the sheets off of him and headed straight for the gravity room. There was no time for rest. He needed to train, to ascend and become better than Kakarot, as he should be.

_I will NOT stand to let that low class trash be ahead of me! _He thought, shutting himself in the capsule shaped room. Who knew when he would stop.

...

Around eleven that night, Bulma was tucked cozily in her bed with her copy of _Antony and Cleopatra._ It was such a great story of love, tragedy, the struggle of political control, and opposition. Bulma never knew why she had a propensity for enjoying Shakespeare's tragedies, but they ended up being good stories nonetheless. And just then she was at her favorite part, the part where Antony dies in Cleopatra's arms.

_I have no idea why, but every single time I read this part of the play, I tear up. _Bulma wiped away a stray tear. She couldn't imagine someone dying in her arms. Just the mere thought made her blood run cold. All the gory images, like her hands being covered in blood, guts being splattered everywhere, she couldn't bear to think of it. She considered her life to be sheltered, until her teenage years. She always felt secure and protected, so it was hard for her mind to wrap around the image of battle and sacrifice like in the story. In a way, the story reminded her of Vegeta and his family. Vegeta's father fought to keep his political control from Frieza, but unfortunately he was overpowered, and his only son was taken from him and his mother to some sadistic tyrant.

_I guess I could show a little more empathy to him. It must be hard to deal with not having any happy memories in your life. It's no wonder he still remains so bitter. Then again, empathy is probably the last thing he'd want from anyone. _Before she could turn the page, she heard a loud knock on her door that alarmed her.

"I'm coming." She said, walking quickly to the door. Once she opened the door, she noticed a small trail of blood all over the hallway carpet that led to her door. The shock took over as she saw Vegeta lying outside her bedroom door with a huge gash in his arm, while he fought to keep his eyes open.

* * *

><p><strong>Well, this was quite the long chapter. Sorry, it's been a while since I've been able to write while being in college. As far as the next chapter, that's when things will start to get intense, but it's going to be a few chapters before anything serious happens. Until then, have fun reading and reviewing!<strong>

**Cherriez**


	3. Chapter 3

**Geezzz, this took so freaking long to write from those gosh darn writers blocks! Anyway, I'm back in business before the holidays (that I intend to spend for myself) and I feel like I'm getting a lot accomplished. I'm still planning out chapters 5 and 6 for this story, so it'll be a little while before they're up and running.**

**Thanks to those who reviewed! You guys are amazing I love you all! And I want to apologize to my beta for posting this chapter without running it by you. I'm kind of on restricted time and I'm gonna be really busy starting next week .**

**Don't own DBZ. Wish I did, but I don't. Bye!**

_"Every year of my life I grow more convinced that it is the wisest and best to fix our attention on the beautiful and the good, and dwell as little as possible on the evil and the false."_

_~Richard Cecil_

**Chapter 3**

"Oh my God, what did you do?" Bulma inhaled sharply, ignoring the slight jab to her lungs.

He could barely let out a scowl at her before wincing at the pain shooting through his arm. "Gra...gravity room."

Blood stained the small spot where the prince kneeled, as he slightly gripped his right arm. So many questions were traveling through Bulma's head faster than the speed of light. One thought was about calling a carpet cleaner, while the other was about Vegeta's arm and him bleeding to death. The entire situation was freaking her out.

Nevertheless, she stayed placid. She had to act quickly or the poor man was going to bleed to death. Bulma gently wrapped her arms around his torso. "You're gonna have to work with me here. I can't lift you, so you have to try and get up."

Without a word, Bulma was astonished that Vegeta actually complied with her. It took him a good minute to muster up some strength to get himself off the ground. She walked him over to the edge of her bed and sat him down, almost falling on him in the process. She quickly rushed into her closet to find her first aid kit.

_First aid...first aid...damnit, where is it? Oh...wait...aha! _Bulma picked up the huge rectangular container that said first aid on the top and ran back out. _Okay...I need ace bandages, gauze, rubbing alcohol...eh, peroxide will have to do. I have needles and string...okay I'm good. _Once she gathered everything, Bulma sat where his arm was bleeding. She gently touched his hand before he snatched it away.

"Don't touch me!" He sneered, quietly.

She rolled her eyes. "Do you want me to fix your arm or would you rather bleed to death?"

He begrudgingly kept his mouth shut and let her proceed. She delicately examined his arm, looking at how deep the gash in his arm was. It was a good thing blood didn't bother her that much, or else she would probably have puked by now.

"I'm going to clean your cut so it doesn't get infected, it may burn a little." Bulma explained, putting some peroxide on the small piece of gauze in her hand.

"Woman, just clean the da...FUCK THIS PLANET!" He shouted, once he felt the burn shooting in different directions of his arm. Whatever it was that she was cleaning his arm with burned like hell, or a ki blast. It took every fibre in his being to not to start an uproar.

"You'd think someone who gets hit with all those blasts everyday of his life would be used to being burned a little." Bulma responded, sarcastically. She ignored him as she continued to clean his cut. He'd thank her later for it, that is if he ever learned to say thank you.

He watched her meticulously as she tended to his wound. Normally, he'd be left to die in his current state, so having someone like the woman tend to him with such caution baffled him. He noticed her lean more closer to him while she ran a needle and thread through his arm. He could see that her white shirt had a v-neck, showing off a dove tattoo just above her the right side of her chest and even her breasts. The Saiyan prince had a hell of a time keep his eyes off her large chest. It wasn't like he had women throwing themselves at his feet everyday. He admitted that she was attractive, for an Earthling female. She was nothing like a Saiyan. All Saiyan women were warriors alongside their mates, though they didn't fight as much as the males, they battled if one needed to.

_No, this is absurd! I am the Prince of all Saiyans, and I'm not going to bother myself with this woman. As if I'd __**ever **__couple up with her. _He ignored the trivial matters in his head.

While continuing to stitch his arm, Bulma thought a little more about the doubt surrounding Vegeta. Most of the doubt came from all her friends, except Goku. Though she knew Goku took her side on the matter, it still annoyed her how perisistent Yamcha was in wanting her to get rid of Vegeta. He admired her for always helping people, yet he was the first one to tell her to get rid of Vegeta. His contradictory statements really aggravated her, and Bulma was at the point that she wanted to hit him.

_He's not going to change my mind, and I'm not going to let him guilt trip me either. He can either man up and deal with it or go bitch to someone who cares. _Bulma reached for the Ace bandage that was beside her and started wrapping his arm. Though he was a bloody mess, she couldn't help but admire how well built he was. Broad shoulders, tight abs, and she didn't even want to venture below his waist or else she'd start drooling as if she were a desperate virgin.

_Hell, I might as well be one, knowing how Yamcha kinda sucks when it comes to matters like sex. _Ignoring her sexual frustration, she took the the last two metal clasps and secured his wrapped arm in place.

"There, all done. I can't really tell you how long it'll be before your stitches dissolve, since I don't normally work with Saiyan anatomy, but you still need to rest." She explained, throwing everything back in her first aid kit.

Vegeta merely scoffed at her. "Don't pretend to be dense, woman. There's no way in hell that I'm going to stop my training, especially when I have to surpass Kakarot."

"Oh, I didn't think what I said was up for discussion." Bulma replied, setting her first aid kit on her dresser.

"Don't you undermine me! Training is my top priority right now, not resting!" Vegeta spat, clenching his fist.

"Look, I'm not going to argue with you. Even the Prince of all Saiyans needs to rest. It won't hurt your pride if you take a day or two to rest." Bulma told him, crossing her arms.

"Stop wasting my time. I'm going to train." He growled, walking out of her room.

"Oh, I wonder where you're going to train when I self-destruct the gravity room?" Bulma asked. The next thing she knew, her back was flat against the wall with Vegeta pinning her to it. There was very little space that Bulma could feel his breath on her neck.

"You wouldn't _dare_, if you knew what was best for you that is." He whispered, his tone full of force.

She smirked at how pissed he was getting. She knew he was going to bend to her will before she spoke another word. "Don't push me. You either rest, or the gravity room get's demolished. Take your pick, _Prince_ Vegeta."

He sighed heavily through his nose. If he wasn't highly angered by the woman, he knew for certain that he would have been turned on when she acknowledged his royalty. _Damn her for being the sole benefactor of my training_.

"Fine." He grumbled, moving away from her.

"Okay. At my mother's request, I put fresh sheets and pillowcases on your bed." Bulma responded, straightening out her shirt.

"At least the blonde woman knows how to pay respect to her superiors. You ought to learn a thing or two, woman." He said, walking out of her room.

"Yeah, I'll serve you when Goku turns into a Great Ape." Bulma mumbled, shutting her door for the night. Thank Kami she could enjoy what was left of her night.

* * *

><p>Nearly a week passed, yet Vegeta was still ordered to rest by Bulma. She knew he ultimately hated it, but if he didn't want the gravity room to be destroyed, he would comply when it was neccessary. Bulma had continued to tend to his injuries and clean his arm and put on fresh bandages since he still bled through the first couple. Sometimes she got the feeling when she would help him, he was staring at her or some part of her body, which was mostly her chest. It did freak her out most of the time, but she was happy that he was getting better.<p>

While she was in the lab, Bulma kept getting distracted from looking at her blueprints for the new version of capsules. Her mind stayed stuck on thinking of Vegeta and sometimes Yamcha. Most of her thoughts of Yamcha were thoughts that revolved around him being incredibly annoying. At first, she thought his jealousy was cute in a way, but now it was to the point where she wanted to shoot him.

_Seriously, it's not like I'm infatuated with Vegeta. There's no sort of chemistry whatsoever...at least I'm pretty sure there isn't. Yamcha's just being paranoid. _She took a glance at her clock and realized that she worked way past her lunch break. _Gee, I really am hungry. I guess I could use the time since I'm nearly done with the blueprints. _

She took off her lab coat and threw it on her chair before leaving the lab. Once she was on the ground floor of her home, she found the little bin that her mother liked to keep the footy socks and house shoes in and slipped her feet into her white, furry slippers. She could feel the difference in her feet every time she put her feet into something comfortable and less painful. After relishing in the comfort of her slippers, she met her mother in the kitchen, reading the latest issue of Cosmo.

"Hey, Mom. Find anything interesting?" Bulma asked, taking out bread and lunchmeat for her sandwich.

"Not really sweetie. I wonder how that young man is doing." Bunny said, sipping her cup of tea.

"Eh, he's still being rude as ever, but he's healing." Bulma told her, while making her sandwich.

"Well that's great, sweetie! Have you heard from Yamcha?" Bunny asked, curiously.

Bulma sarcastically laughed while rolling her eyes. "Yeah, I've heard from Yamcha...heard from him too much lately."

"Oh? What's the matter? Did something happen?" Bunny sounded somewhat concerned, while setting her magazine aside.

"It's nothing huge, he's just been skeptical about Vegeta staying with us. I totally get where he's coming from, but I just wish he could understand that everyone isn't perfect. Vegeta hasn't really been noble, but I know deep down that he's a good person." Bulma explained, drizzling some Italian dressing on her sandwich.

"Maybe he's just jealous. Any man like Vegeta would be considered good husband material in my day." Bunny smiled, making Bulma giggle to herself.

"Yeah, you know men don't like it when women say they're jealous. Yamcha would never admit it." Bulma admitted, taking a bite of her sandwich, "Eh, I'm going back in the lab. See you in a few hours."

"Okay, darling." Bunny said, trying to figure out how she was going to spend her afternoon.

xxxx

Just like the previous day, Yamcha spent most of the day training, with a few breaks in between. Though he was giving it his all, he still felt no difference, albeit it hasn't been that long. Every time he looked over at that gravity room sitting idle a few feet away from him, it constantly reminded him of the Saiyan prince. Specifically, it reminded him of his incompetence and inadequacy. In comparison to Vegeta, he might as well not call himself a warrior.

_I want to push myself to be the best I can. How the hell am I supposed to feel better about myself when there's a pompous bastard hanging right over my head. _Yamcha balled his fist tightly, growling at the thought of Vegeta's face, with his voice echoing around in his head telling him he was a waste of space and had nothing to show for.

While his mind was on the subject of Vegeta, it instantly made him feel even more bitter. He knew well about Bulma taking care of Vegeta for the last week, and it would never sit right with him. He couldn't comprehend how she could take care of such an asshole.

_Bulma's always had a soft heart for people...even for the evilest people like Vegeta. What he's getting handed to him is well deserved karma. He should understand that's what happens when you treat innocent people like shit. Hell, if it were me I wouldn't help a guy like that. I'm just sick of Bulma trying to convince me that he's a good person. Like hell he's a good person. Goku's a good person...Krillin's a good person. Hell, __**anyone **__besides Vegeta is a good person. _Yamcha smashed the plastic bottle holding his water. He went back and threw himself into training like there wouldn't be another day on Earth.

xxxx

Trying to take advantage of the rest of her evening, Bulma was sitting on the couch in the living room with a hot bowl of soup, wearing her oversized, beige sweater with her thick, dark grey scarf wrapped snug around her neck. She was watching a special about cheetahs on Animal Planet. She thought the parts with the little baby cheetah cubs and the mother cheetah was the most adorable thing to watch. It still surprised her how much mothers of animal species would do anything to protect their babies.

The subject of babies and mothers always brought Bulma's mind to thinking about her future. She always wanted to get married and have children. She figured that eventually, she and Yamcha would get married, but never thought much of it. They've been together for ten years and there was still no talk of the future with Yamcha. It wasn't like she was getting any younger. Ever since Krillin had brought that Maron chick around, just for the bitch to ridicule her age, Bulma started to feel that maybe she was wasting her life away. Most of her co-workers were already married and had children by now, and her she was...still dating Yamcha. Not that it was bad, but she'd figure after maybe four years of dating that he'd propose by then. Now, she wasn't sure if he'd ever do it.

_Maybe I'm blowing things out of proportion, but then again it really bothers me because I want a family of my own so bad. _She sighed, going back to eating her chicken noodle soup and watching TV.

"What a way to make use of your time." Bulma nearly spilled her soup in her lap when she heard Vegeta's voice. She assumed he just finished his training, before noticing that it was going on eleven o' clock.

"Look who's talking. You've been in bed for a week." She replied, going back to eating her soup.

"Only because you threatened the destruction of what I need to train." He sneered in disgust.

"It was the only thing that I knew would make you listen to me. If you weren't so stubborn I wouldn't have to make threats." Bulma explained, sipping the broth from her soup.

"Oh yes, coming from you surely makes your statement less hypocritical." He spat, sarcastically. He could feel a headache beginning to brew in his temples.

"Whatever. I win at the end of the day because you still listened to me. Speaking of your injuries, I need to check your arm." Bulma told him, setting her soup on the side table next to her, "Sit."

Rolling his eyes, he sat next to her on the couch as she began to unwrap his bandages. After setting the bandages aside, Bulma could see that his body dissolved all the stitches pretty quickly. Then again, his Saiyan anatomy heals faster than a humans.

"Well you're free to go. Your body oddly dissolves stitches pretty quickly." She said, watching him move his arm around.

_Finally, I can get back to my training and not deal with that vile woman, _He thought, walking away from her.

Once he was gone, she sighed for a moment before directing her attention back to her soup. She wondered if she would have to spend the rest of her days dealing with that on a daily basis...or would Vegeta eventually leave once the androids have been destroyed?

_Who the hell knows. _Before she could change the channel on TV, she heard someone knock on the front door. "Coming!"

As soon as she opened the door, she saw Yamcha standing there. He was covered in dirt from head to toe, and his body wreaked of sweat.

"Not that I'm not glad to see you, but Kami you smell awful!" Bulma exclaimed, plugging her nose. She shut the door so that they could talk outside, despite the weather being less warm than she expected.

"I need to talk to you about something. It's kind of about us." Yamcha said, in a tone that made Bulma's heart skip a beat, but not in any sort of good way that suggested love. Thoughts were running through her mind like a track race, and so many fears were coming to mind that she didn't know what she would do.

_Oh Kami, does he want to break up? Did I do something? Is he still mad that I've been taking care of Vegeta? I am working too much? Eh...that's a bit of stretch. Is he seeing other girls? What the hell is wrong now? What could have possibly happened between a couple days ago and now? Why are half of things going through my mind sound so absurd? WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH THIS PICTURE?_

"Eh, never mind...I'll just come by another day. I have a lot on my mind." Yamcha said, dismissively while flying away into the distance.

Bulma just stood there, slightly confused and annoyed. How could that jerk just show up at her house, almost close to midnight demanding that they talk yet...he flies away and doesn't utter a peep.

_Okay, awkward. He wanted to talk...yet he goes away? Hmm, maybe he's scared...who knows I'm going to bed. _She turned back into the house and forgot that anything ever happened.

* * *

><p>Five days following Yamcha's unexpected visit, Bulma had thrown herself heavily into her work. The holidays had just passed and since some people were still gone for their vacations, Bulma had to make up all their work that wasn't getting done. It was so much to do that she hadn't really seen anyone in the last forty-eight hours. She didn't even have much time to have her daily dose of arguments with Vegeta, not that she looked forward to that everyday, the process became normal for her.<p>

_That's the only thing I absolutely can't STAND about the holidays. I mean, seriously people it's freaking Thanksgiving! Christmas I could understand, but not Thanksgiving. Who goes to Santa Monica for Thanksgiving? _Bulma growled to herself a little before taking a sip of her hot chocolate with whipped cream and cinnamon. Her fingers kept tapping away on her computer, trying to get what was left of the blueprints for the new Capsule Corp jets.

"How are the blueprints coming along?" Dr. Briefs asked, coming into Bulma's office.

"Fine, since I'm doing them. At least I can come home knowing there aren't any mistakes that call for emergency phone calls." Bulma answered, shrugging her shoulders.

"Someone's a bit grouchy. Take a break, dear, you look overwhelmed." He suggested, looking at the already done blueprints.

"As much as I want to, things are far to behind to take a break." She told him, now taking a swig of her Monster energy drink.

Dr. Briefs conceded, knowing the consequence of insisting a break. "All right. Do you want me to bring you anything?"

"A club sandwich, chili fries, and a Red Bull. Thanks Dad!" Bulma chirped, continuing to focus her attention on her computer screen.

Almost ten minutes later, she received a call from her receptionist. Bulma was feeling slightly irritated, since she asked her receptionist not to bother. "Yes?"

"I'm sorry...Ms. Briefs, there's a man here...and he's deman-," Her receptionist, Lyndi stammered, giving away who the unexpected guest was.

"Just send him in, Lyndi." Bulma told her, cutting the line off. Though she was already pissed off because of the interruption, Bulma felt bad for her receptionist. Anyone would be terrified of Vegeta upon first introductions. He wasn't exactly the patient type when it came to understanding human etiquette.

"Woman." She heard Vegeta say, continuing to ignore him.

"What? What could you possibly need _right_ now?" Bulma asked, frantically.

"I need new bo-," He started, before being interrupted.

"Yeah, I know you need _more_ bots. You just flew all the way here for nothing because they're stored next to the control panel on the outside of the gravity room anyway." She interjected, biting her lip.

"That would have been good to know before now, wench." He growled.

"Well, if you bothered to ask rather than make demands, you would have known. Now incase you can't see I'm busy! So can we save the witty, uncomical banter for later?" Bulma questioned, nonchalantly.

_Way to not be a bitch. _Vegeta scoffed before slamming the door on his way out. Once he was gone, Bulma did feel a little bad that she yelled at him, since she wasn't the type to lose her cool most of the time. It was getting a little redundant to always make him new training bots every few days, and she didn't have that kind of time. She knew it was all for the android battle, but her life didn't stop now just because he was semi-permanent guest in her home. As she continued her work, she couldn't help but still wonder what the next couple years of her life would be like. Only time would determine her path.

* * *

><p><strong>Well, the end to another chapter. Well, I won't be writing for a couple weeks because I have a huge project and I have finals to study for before the semester ends, so wish me luck! Until next time, happy reading and leave some reviews!<strong>

**Cherriez**


	4. Chapter 4

**Yeah, I know the last chapter was kind of short...and kind of lame, but I'm really sorry about that :/ I promise this chapter will be a lot better and make more sense. It's been really hectic trying to get all this writing done and study for finals!**

**Thanks to all who reviewed and thanks to my beta lilpumpkingirl! Oh yeah, and I know some people may be wondering about the quotes I always put at the beginning of the chapters...they're for a reason or they are related to the theme of the chapters. This particular quote, I can tell you will be used again at some point further in the story. Well, enjoy!**

_"If you love someone, set them free. If they come back, they're yours; if they don't they never were."_

_~Richard Bach_

* * *

><p><em>"So, you finally want to talk?" Bulma was sitting in her office. Her hands lied daintily in her lap, while her legs were delicately crossed. She was waiting to hear what her boyfriend had been dying to tell her for over two weeks now. She would be lying if she said she wasn't terrified. Bulma had no idea what exactly Yamcha wanted to tell her.<em>

_"Yeah, I do. Bulma, I love you...very much, and I really hate to tell you this. I need to leave for a while...to train." He said, letting out a huge sigh._

_Her mood had promptly dampered a little bit, but she was also shocked. The only words her mind recognized were leave and train. "Wait a minute...what do you mean you're leaving? Why can't you train at the compound? Is it because of Vegeta?"_

_"B, Vegeta himself isn't the problem, it's just that I can't train around him because he irks my nerves just as much as I irk his. Plus, I believe that maybe if I leave, the solitude will help me focus. My everyday life is a bit distracting, and if I'm to protect you and help Goku then I have to do this." He explained, solemnly._

_"But Yamcha...I'm going to miss you so badly." Bulma whispered, trying hard not to cry. _

_"Please, B. If you cry, then I know for a fact I'm not going to go. I want to protect you because I love you, and you mean the world to me," He admitted, not wanting to look into her eyes, due to the fear of seeing her tears._

What am I going to do? If he leaves...then..I don't know what I'd do. Literally._ She wanted nothing more than for him to push himself to be the best he could be, and in a way, she was glad that he was taking initiative to help everyone, which had always been a rarity. However, it didn't mean that she wanted him to go. The only time they were separated was when Yamcha died, and that in itself was unbearable to her. Now they were going to be separated again, and she had no idea how she was going to cope. She held back her tears and looked him in his eyes. _

_"Well...if this is what you want, then who am I to tell you otherwise? I've always wanted you to push yourself more, and now that you are...I accept your decision. Just promise that when you leave, you make the best of your training and come back home safe." Bulma replied softly, letting out a small smile. _

_He smiled in return, with as much love as he could give. He embraced her one last time, smelling the lovely scent of her hair. "I appreciate it, B. I really do. So...I guess I'll see you in a year or so...,"_

_"Yup. Remember, make the best of it." She told him, before letting him go through the threshold._

xxx

He'd been gone for a month and a half now. To Bulma, it felt longer than a month and a half. She never knew what loneliness felt like, until Yamcha left. Her feelings of shame and ungratefulness gnawed at her like a beaver gnaws on wood. She took his presence for granted for a long time and now that he was gone she acknowledged it. Everything about him, she missed. Sure, before his departure he annoyed the hell out of her on a daily basis, but it was one of those things she grew accustomed to, oddly. The one person that held so much love and adoration for her, outside of her family was gone and for a year at that. It led her to think again. Had she taken his presence for granted? If she did, then to what degree? Was she part of the distractions that he mentioned to her a while ago? If things went well for him after a year, would things still be the same when he came back?

Lately, she'd been covering up her feelings to her parents, insisting that she was fine. Unfortunately, the cover up wasn't flying with her Saiyan house guest.

Vegeta seemed to be the only one who paid close enough attention to Bulma's change of mood, not only with her body language, but her ki was oddly lower than normal. The point at which he knew something was off was when she stopped bickering with him. For at least two weeks, he insulted her just like any other day, but she kept on going with her day as if he didn't exist. Now that a few more weeks progressed, he grew tired of her dull attitude.

"Woman! Damn it, where are you woman?" Vegeta shouted, approaching the lab.

As soon as she heard his yelling, she pretended to work on something so that she didn't have to be bothered with him and he wouldn't know she wasn't working. Why, she didn't know, but the only logical reason she had was that she didn't want to work on the gravity room...again.

"Did you not hear me addressing you, woman?" His voice echoed throughout the lab.

"I've been working...on improving my dragon ball radar." She lied, avoiding his eyes.

"Don't lie. You've been sulking for a month, so I seriously doubt you've even _tried_ to keep yourself occupied." He growled, crossing his arms.

"Since when was my life any concern of yours? You're so self absorbed, I don't know how you manage to see daylight...since your head is shoved so far up your ass." She retorted, setting the radar aside.

"At least I'm not the one walking around depressed over a pathetic excuse of a warrior because he left to go train. Oh...too soon?" He teased, smirking.

"You know, that would have bothered me about three weeks ago. If you don't need anything, then I'm going to take a nap." She told him, fixing her oversized maroon sweater as she walked towards the door.

"Who said I _didn't_ need anything?" He inquired, blocking her from leaving.

"Too late, my offer stood for two seconds and now it's gone. Now move." She replied, trying to push pass him, but to no avail.

"I need you to upgrade the simulation to a higher gravity." He said, bluntly.

"No! Now move out of my way!" Before she could say another word, he threw her over his shoulder while finding the box the old man kept all his tools in. "Vegeta! PUT ME DOWN NOW!"

He ignored her cries of protest and finally found the red, metal box. If asking her didn't work, he figured he'd go old school and force her to do it.

"VEGETA, I SAID I'M _NOT_ FIXING THAT DAMN THING! SO HELP ME IF YOU DON'T PUT ME DOWN!" Bulma screamed, pounding her fists into his back.

"Or what, wench?" He asked, giving her butt a hard smack. She shrieked louder, feeling the sting from his hand.

Passing through the living room, he noticed Mrs. Briefs reading a book. She only looked up once she heard Bulma continuing to scream at him. "Oh, that's so adorable."

"What's _adorable_ about being dragged out of the house by this egotistical motherfuc-?" Bulma started, before he slammed the door once they were outside, "Vegeta! It's cold! Let me go!"

"Fine." He murmured, dropping her on the grass, "Here's the tools the old man uses. Get to work."

"What part of I'm not fixing the gravity room didn't you understand?" She shouted, fixing her hair.

"All I seemed to hear was 'fixing' and 'gravity room'. Sorry for my lack of attention." He grinned, walking away from her.

_Oh okay. I'll show you, Mr. I-Think-I-Can-Boss-All-Humans-Around! _She began to tinker with the control panel on the outside. She aimed to get back at him, and she was certain he didn't want to know what she was 'fixing'.

* * *

><p><em>He remembered hearing crashes and blasts in his room. The explosive impacts caused shattering quakes in the ground that rumbled through the palace. The young boy was frightened out of his mind. He couldn't sense anyone's ki. Where did everyone go? What was going on? He looked out the window of his room. Everything on the palace grounds and even outside the palace walls were set ablaze. Ear piercing screams were coming from all directions. <em>

_"Vegeta! There you are! Come now, darling, we have to go." He turned to see his mother, with worry and fear in her hazel eyes. She picked her son up and held him close as she began to sprint down the halls of the palace._

_"Mother, what's going on? What's happening? Where's father?" The innocent, Saiyan prince questioned, frantically._

_"Now is not the time for explanations! We have to get you somewhere safe!" She told him, in a hushed whisper. The Queen kept her power level near nothing, so that none of his minions could track her or her baby boy. _

_She quickly went down a secret path that she and her husband only knew of, careful to lock the door behind her. Breaking back into her sprint, she clung him to her chest with dear life. Whatever she did, Vegeta could not be allowed into that monster's hands. _

_"Your Majesty, you've finally arrived." The Queen's bodyguard, Cecelia seemed as if she were expecting her, "Come. I've been instructed by King Vegeta to get you two out of here."_

_"Thank you, but please, what matters is that he's safe more so than me." The Queen responded, gesturing towards Vegeta. _

_"As you wish. Let's get going." Cecelia muttered, quickly going down several hallways. _

_Vegeta didn't have the slightest clue what was happening. All he knew was that his home was being attacked and that they had to flee immediately. _

_"Where is father?" Vegeta asked, quietly._

_"He's fighting alongside the army, darling. Please be calm, all will be well. I promise." The Queen whispered, gently stroking his hair. _

_"HALT! STOP WHERE YOU ARE!" A male's voice shouted, startling Cecelia and the Queen in that moment._

_"Oh God, this way!" Cecelia exclaimed, as they bolted down another stone hallway. _

_"Don't let them get away! Frieza wants the boy!" Another voice yelled, as they chased after them. _

What do they mean? Who's Frieza?_ Vegeta wondered, as his face turned up in horror. He heard the familiar name somewhere before, but he couldn't remember when. _

_"Okay, this isn't going to work. I'll fight them off and you take the prince and get out of here." Cecelia ordered, as she began her heroic fight. _

_"Mother...I'm scared...I don't want to go with him!" The young prince cried, shaking his head._

_"I won't let him take you, even if it means sacrificing my life. I need you to remember something, darling. No matter what happens to me, run and flee. If I fall to these beasts, then I want you to flee and don't turn back. This is never to frighten you, but this is your only way of survival." Her bell like voice would be forever engraved in his young, pure mind. _

_The Queen's feet took her towards the open exit. She was so close to that bright light, but that very same light was becoming dim. She felt something burning come into contact with her back, while at the same time her baby boy was no longer in the embrace of her warm, loving arms. He was fulfilling her dying wish, as her eyes gazed at her little boy for the last time. _

xxx

_"Hmm. Planet Vegeta is no more. No more of those worthless monkeys to worry about. Long live the King." He laughed, with a glass of wine in his hand. _

_"Indeed, my lord. Though I must wonder, what are we going to do with the boy?" The blue man questioned, with curiosity._

_"Since I'm being...merciful, I'll make him useful." He smirked, not knowing that the young boy was watching him from afar. _

xxx

_He could feel the tears penetrating his eyes. Why was this happening to him? He could feel the bile in the back of his throat waiting to be unleashed to the ground._

_"It's a shame, truly. The look on your face pleases me, dear prince." The feminine like voice hissed, stroking the delicate skin around his manhood. He could see him lowering his face, and knew what was bound to happen._

_"NO, STOP! STOP! STOOOOOOPPPPP!" He screamed, just before the bile appeared on the ground._

xxx

Vegeta shot straight up from his sleep. The sweat drenched his entire back along with his face. This wasn't the first time his dreams had haunted him. His mind couldn't comprehend why these dreams still occurred, even after Frieza was destroyed by that boy from the future. When he truly thought about what happened, he felt even more pissed. To this day, he resented his father for not being there for him and his mother. He always remembered his mother. The way she held onto him for dear life until she gave her last breath, so that he could get away.

_Your death was not in vain, mother. I'm alive, but what became of myself isn't something you should be proud of. _He closed his eyes, remembering her hazel eyes that deviated from a Saiyan's dominant brown eyes, her teaching him to fight alongside his father, but more importantly her will to protect him with all the love she could give him.

"Are you okay?" A soft voice asked, causing his eyes to flicker in the direction of his door. She was standing there, clad in a black tank top and grey shorts.

"What do you want, woman? Aren't you supposed to be sleeping?" He asked, letting out a snarl.

She smirked, not surprised by his grumpy attitude. "I was sleep, until I heard you screaming in your sleep. I guess I got a little...worried."

He scoffed at her statement. "Hn. As if anything could do any harm to me, the...,"

"Yeah, yeah, nothing could happen to the Prince of All Saiyans...you've mentioned it more than a couple times." She replied, sitting on the edge of his bed.

"Again, why are you here, woman?" He questioned, impatiently.

"Again, Vegeta, it's because I was worried. Is that so wrong?" She asked, curiously, "And besides, what are these horrid dreams about anyway? I mean, it's got to be something horrible if it's waking you up like that."

"Worrying is for the weak. Now, if you're done spouting nonsense, I'm going back to sleep." He grumbled, lying back down.

She sighed, as she headed for the threshold to return to her room for the rest of the night. There was no sense of getting him worked up at this hour of the night.

She was startled then to hear him softly say, "They're about Frieza."

She turned around, whipping her turquoise locks with her. "What?"

"The nightmares...are about Frieza. They're more like terrible memories happening over and over again in my head." He explained, tearing his eyes away from her gaze.

"It's how he destroyed Planet Vegeta...isn't it?" Bulma questioned, getting a short nod from him, "I know you hate sympathy and pity, especially coming from me, but nevertheless, at least you're alive."

"Like that matters. What's the point of living when you have nothing to live for? My life has been full of bloodshed and agony, if not dealt by my hand, then it's been dealt from that purple freak of nature." He snarled, darkly.

She'd never seen this kind of hatred coming off of him. She knew he had every right to be mad, given the circumstances of his life. However, it really did hurt her that he believed that there was nothing for him to live for.

"I know that I'll never understand the degree of torture you've been through, but from what Goku has told me, you're a hell of a lot stronger mentally than I could have imagined. Though you've tried to kill me over a dragon ball, I still can't help but admire your determination to strive for the better, even if it does involve your obsession to be better than Goku and you not giving a shit about anyone on Earth." She told him, sincerely.

_This woman...wha..what is wrong with her? She should fear me...not admire me. It's like she said before, I tried to kill her not too long ago, and could change my mind...yet, she's treating me as if she doesn't remember any of that, _He thought, feeling confused by the sincerity and pureness of her words.

"Well, being that I don't like to focus so much on the negative, I'm going back to my room. Good night, Vegeta. Oh, and if you need someone to talk to, I'm down the hall." Bulma said, shutting his door before he could utter another word. Though it went against nature in other's eyes, she refused to turn the other cheek. He needed her in his corner, and that was what she was going to do regardless of anyone's disapproval.

* * *

><p>"Oh my Kami! There's <em>nothing <em>to do. Gah!" Bulma yelled, throwing the remote on the coffee table. It was getting very difficult to find anything to do around the compound since Yamcha wasn't around, and everyone she knew (except) for Chi-Chi was training.

"Hi, sweetie! I bought you lunch." Bunny said, handing Bulma wrapped deli sandwich and vitamin water.

"Thanks, Mom." Bulma responded, plainly.

Bunny looked concerned for just a moment. "What's the matter dear? You've been looking quite depressed for a while."

"Eh, it's just boredom. Yamcha left to go train, so I haven't had much to do." Bulma admitted, quietly. She figure she might as well get it off her chest, since bottling it up wasn't going to do much good.

"Oh, well did you want to go Christmas shopping with me later? I'm trying to get all of my shopping done early this year." Bunny offered, sipping her tea.

"Sure thing, Mom." Bulma smiled, feeling a little better. She hadn't remembered the last time she and her mother had a day to themselves.

"Oh, and if you're feeling lonely, sweetie, why don't you get together with that young man? He's always working so hard and is truly dedicated." Bunny mentioned, moving to a different subject.

Bulma immediately started choking on her water. "Mom! That's completely ridiculous! And keep your voice down! He has better hearing than a human!"

"How so? He's great husband material, and you two look so adorable together. He's perfect for you." Bunny told her, cheerfully. She had no clue as to why her daughter looked completely mortified at her suggestion.

"The day we ever hook up is the day pigs fly, and plus just because Yamcha left doesn't mean we broke up." Bulma added, trying to keep herself from blushing. The conversations she and her mother had never ceased to amaze her.

xxx

He didn't get it. Even when he tried to forget about it, his brain still tried to wrap itself around it. The woman was such an enigma to him. He was used to being feared by any being in the universe, but not her. She stood out like a sore thumb. What mostly bothered him was the fact that he opened up to her about his past. He _never _did that. Why did he feel vulnerable when he was around her?

Maybe it was because she was the only one who gave a shit about him. Possibly?

_Why the hell should she care? It's not like I give a shit about any of her problems. Whatever, she's hindering me from my training. I don't have time for useless attachments. It'll get you killed on the battlefield. _

Baring that thought in mind, he threw himself back into his training once again.

xxx

After six intense hours of Christmas shopping and working in her lab for two and a half more, Bulma decided to turn in for the night. Though she was sleepy, she walked through the halls of her house thinking about her current dilemma. She had to stop being so depressed because Yamcha left. He was going to be gone for another eight and a half months, so she had to put her mental strength to use and get over herself. She survived when Yamcha met his untimely death, so she should be able to handle him going away somewhere to train.

While walking back to her room, she noticed the door to the family library was cracked open. Her curiosity got the best of her and she quietly slipped in through the door. Inside she recognized the endless shelves full of books of all different types of genres. While walking through the aisles, she could feel that someone else was in the library as well. Bulma noticed her feet guiding her into the direction of where this prescence may be. After about two minutes, she found Vegeta looking up at the collection of old paintings that hung on the wall in the back. The particular painting he stared at was of Marie Louise, a far descendant of the Briefs family. Feeling her behind him, he turned around and glared at her. It wasn't full of malice or hate, it remained neutral.

"I see you found Marie Louise." Bulma said, softly.

"Hn. I didn't know you were royalty, woman." Vegeta responded, looking back at the painting.

She smiled to herself just a bit. "Of course you'd take an interest, but no, technically I'm not royalty. My mother and her side of my family are direct descendants. Marie Louise married the French Emperor, Napoleon until his death. All the other paintings are more people of royalty."

"I was merely looking around. There's nothing else here to entertain me...and I only enjoyed reading about the pathetic excuses of human royalty." He explained, shrugging.

"I don't think that's a fair comparison." Bulma mentioned, playfully rolling her eyes.

"Don't be absurd! Saiyan's are by far more superior to humans." He scoffed, with mild disgust.

"Okay, only because humans don't have abnormal fighting skills, can't fly, and most of us don't think about fighting every second of our lives like obnoxious barbarians." She countered, leaning against the wall.

He couldn't help but smirk. "Maybe you have a point, woman, except for the barbarian thing."

"Are you agreeing with me?" She questioned, shocked at the revelation.

"Don't get ahead of yourself, woman. It's coincidental that we agree on one thing." He spat, rolling his eyes.

"It's okay to just say we've found common ground. It's not going to hurt that overly insane Saiyan pride." She mildly teased, messing with her hair, "Well, as much as I enjoy this small debate, I'm turning in for the night."

He watched as she disappeared through the aisles of the library with the blink of his eyes. What was it about that woman that intrigued him in the slightest?

_I have to be losing my mind the longer I stay on this mudball planet, _He thought, rubbing his temples as he made his way to his bed for rest.

xxx

He'd been training, and well for the matter. He could feel all the muscles in his body growing with strength he couldn't have imagined. It made him overjoyed that he was gaining strength. The more power gained, the closer Yamcha grew to his goal. Now that nightfall arrived, he returned to his tent hidden in a cave by a nearby waterfall. The rushing water felt calm to his mind and soul as he landed on the ground. Once he settled and started a fire to keep warm, his mind wandered to his beloved girlfriend and best friend back home.

He knew that Master Roshi promised to take care of Puar while he was away, so he knew that Puar was out of harm's way. Bulma, however, was another story. The only thing he regretted about going away to train was that he was leaving her and her family with Vegeta. He'd done well keeping that fact out of his head so that he could focus better, but it still nagged at him just a bit. Nine times out of ten, she didn't stand a chance against Vegeta by a large margin, and he could kill her at any moment he wanted to.

_Maybe I'm overreacting. Vegeta's so obsessed with training and beating Goku that he barely notices the Briefs. Hell, maybe Bulma and Vegeta managed to get along...BAHHHHAAAAAHHHAAAAAAA! Never mind, there's no way in hell that the two of them being themselves would ever get along. _

The poor soul that Yamcha was couldn't even predict that his statement would be twisted and warped by the fates. Something in the future would be the ultimate catalyst for what was to come.

* * *

><p><strong>Well, another chapter done. I'm still working on the plot of the next couple chapters, but since I have more time, things will get done much sooner. Until then, have fun reading and if I don't have the next chapter up by the holidays...then Happy Holidays to you all!<strong>

**Cherriez**


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